African American Women Chemists

Jeannette Brown

The first wide-ranging historical introduction to the relatively new presence of African American women in the field of chemistry

African American Women Chemists

Jeannette Brown

Description

Dr. Marie Maynard Daly received her PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University in 1947. Although she was hardly the first of her race and gender to engage in the field, she was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in the United States. In this book, Jeannette Brown, an African American woman chemist herself, will present a wide-ranging historical introduction to the relatively new presence of African American women in the field of chemistry. It will detail their struggles to obtain an education and their efforts to succeed in a field in which there were few African American men, much less African American women.

The book contains sketches of the lives of African America women chemists from the earliest pioneers up until the late 1960's when the Civil Rights Acts were passed and greater career opportunities began to emerge. In each sketch, Brown will explore women's motivation to study the field and detail their often quite significant accomplishments. Chapters focus on chemists in academia, industry, and government, as well as chemical engineers, whose career path is very different from that of the tradition chemist. The book concludes with a chapter on the future of African American women chemists, which will be of interest to all women interested in science.

African American Women Chemists

Jeannette Brown

Table of Contents

AcknowledgementsForewordChapter 1. IntroductionChapter 2. A Historical BackgroundChapter 3. Women who were the early pioneers in chemistryChapter 4. Dr. Marie Maynard Daly First PhD recipientChapter 5. Women in the Academy - Their struggles and successesChapter 6. Pioneer Women in Industry and Government LabsChapter 7: From Academia to the Board Room and Science PolicyChapter 8: Chemical Engineers Chapter 9: My StoryChapter 10: Stories about Contemporary and future African American Women Chemists Appendix

African American Women Chemists

Jeannette Brown

Author Information

Jeannette Elizabeth Brown is a former Faculty Associate at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She is the 2004 Société de Chimie Industrielle (American Section) Fellow of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and consistently lectures on African American women in chemistry.

Contributors:

n/a

African American Women Chemists

Jeannette Brown

Reviews and Awards

"Like pioneers in any field, these women were more than just chemical researchers or educators; they were true "Renaissance women," often dually employed as reporters, editors, activists, or even priests, and playing leadership roles in national and grassroots organizations. Brown's factual accounts, while often impassive and dull, are greatly informative, and are supported by extensive citations of texts, journal articles, and personal interviews. Although books on African American chemists and female African American scientists do exist, this book is the first biographical reference on this specific underrepresented population. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Students of all levels and general readers." -- D. L. Jacobs, Rider University

African American Women Chemists

Jeannette Brown

From Our Blog

By Jeannette Brown As far as we know, the first African American woman PhD was Dr. Marie Daly in 1947. I am still searching for an earlier one. Women chemists, especially minority women chemists, have always been the underdogs in science and chemistry.